Hillary Clinton’s political stances on economic issues

Hillary Clinton was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the President of the United States in the 2016 election. Clinton served as United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. Senator from New York State from 2001 to 2009 and First Lady of the United States under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001. Clinton is an alumna of Wellesley College and Yale Law School.

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesGoing from $7.25 to $12 is a huge difference. Thirty-five million people will get a raise. One in four working mothers will get a raise. I want to get something done. And I think setting the goal to get to $12 is the way to go, encouraging others to get to $15. But, of course, if we have a Democratic Congress, we will go to $15.Source

Should businesses be required to provide paid leave for full-time employees during the birth of a child or sick family member?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesI believe we should offer paid family leave so no one has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a sick...Source

Should the government make cuts to public spending in order to reduce the national debt?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: No, cuts to public spending will negatively affect the economy We do have to do more infrastructure spending. That will put many Americans to...Source

Should there be fewer or more restrictions on current welfare benefits?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: More, reform the system so that it supplements, rather than replaces, a working incomeI’ve advocated tying the welfare payment to certain behavior about being a good parent. You couldn’t get your welfare check if your child wasn’t immunized. You couldn’t get your welfare check if you didn’t participate in a parenting program. You couldn’t get your check if you didn’t show up for student-teacher conferences. I’m a big believer in linking opportunity and rights with responsibility and duties.Source

Should the government raise or lower the tax rate for corporations?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: RaisePowerful corporations try to game the tax system to pay as little as possible. And for far too long, American taxpayers have had to pick up the...Source

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesBefore I ran for President, I read a book called With Liberty and Dividends for All: How to Save Our Middle Class When Jobs Don’t Pay Enough, by Peter Barnes, which explored the idea of creating a new fund that would use revenue from shared national resources to pay a dividend to every citizen, much like how the Alaska Permanent Fund distributes the state’s oil royalties every year. Shared national resources include oil and gas extracted from public lands and the public airwaves used by broadcasters and mobile phone companies, but that gets you only so far. If you view the nation’s financial system as a shared resource, then you can start raising real money from things like a financial transactions tax. Same with the air we breathe and carbon pricing.
Once you capitalize the fund, you can provide every American with a modest basic income every year [emphasis Vox’s]. Besides cash in people’s pockets, it would also be a way of making every American feel more connected to our country and to one another—part of something bigger than ourselves. I was fascinated by this idea, as was my husband, and we spent weeks working with our policy team to see if it could be viable enough to include in my campaign. We would call it “Alaska for America.” Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the numbers work. To provide a meaningful dividend each year to every citizen, you’d have to raise enormous sums of money, and that would either mean a lot of new taxes or cannibalizing other important programs. We decided it was exciting but not realistic, and left it on the shelf. That was the responsible decision. I wonder now whether we should have thrown caution to the wind and embraced “Alaska for America” as a long-term goal and figured out the details later.Source

Should the government provide tax incentives to private companies to keep jobs within the country?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesCrack down on companies that ship jobs and earnings overseas and create incentives for companies to bring back jobs to the...Source

Should the U.S. continue to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: No, trade between the member countries has become too imbalancedOn the campaign trail, Clinton acknowledged that NAFTA has "hurt a lot of American workers" and advocated for broad reform of trade policy. President Barack Obama's campaign even used the flip-flop against Clinton during the 2008...Source

Should the government require businesses to pay salaried employees, making up to $46k/year, time-and-a-half for overtime hours?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: HelpClinton told the union audience she would "cut 500,000 private contracting jobs" during her first year as...Source

Should the government use economic stimulus to aid the country during times of recession?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: Yes, the government should intervene to boost a recoveryClinton would increase federal infrastructure funding by $275 billion over a five-year period, fully paying for these investments through business tax...Source

Hillary Clinton’s answer: NoClinton has proposed restoring the estate tax to its 2009 parameters, raising the rate to 45 percent and only allowing couples to exempt $7 million. She has also proposed other tax measures aimed at making wealthy people and large corporations pay their "fair share."Source

Should the government increase the tax rate on profits earned from the sale of stocks, bonds, and real estate?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesHillary Clinton is proposing a sharp increase in the capital-gains tax rate paid by the highest earners on short-term investments, in some cases nearly doubling it, her attempt to shift American companies' focus to their long-term...Source

Hillary Clinton’s answer: NoThis is not "End the Fed" or even "audit the Fed" — she wants to rebuild it from its fundamentals at the regional...Source

Should pension payments be increased for retired government workers?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesThroughout her career, Hillary has stood up for Medicare and Social Security. She is committed to preserving, protecting, and strengthening these lifelines for today’s seniors and for future...Source

Should citizens be allowed to save or invest their money in offshore bank accounts?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: No, too many wealthy citizens are abusing loopholes in offshore banking laws to evade taxesSome of you may have just heard about these disclosures about outrageous tax havens and loopholes and superrich people across the world are exploiting in Panama and elsewhere," she said at the annual Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention. "We are going after all these scams and make sure everyone pays their fair share here in America.Source

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesShe also outlined plans to boost investment in rural businesses and entrepreneurs, reduce regulations on community banks so they have more freedom to make loans to growing businesses, and called for doubling funding for beginning farmer...Source

Should pension plans for federal, state, and local government workers be transitioned into privately managed accounts?statsdiscuss

Would you favor an increased sales tax in order to reduce property taxes?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: NoAnother priority must be reforming our tax code," Hillary said during a speech last week. "Now, we hear Republican candidates talk a lot about tax reform. But take a good look at their plans. Well, that is a sure budget busting giveaway to the super wealthy, and that's the kind of bad economics you are likely to hear from any of the candidatesSource

Hillary Clinton’s answer: No, there are too many hidden provisions in this specific agreementI waited until it had actually been negotiated because I did want to give the benefit of the doubt to the administration. Once I saw what the outcome was, I opposed...Source

Should an in-state sales tax apply to online purchases of in-state buyers from out-of-state sellers?statsdiscuss

Hillary Clinton’s answer: YesDemocratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she supported allowing cities and states to tax online...Source

Should the government classify Bitcoin as a legal currency?statsdiscuss